==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Three, Issue Thirty-four, File #11 of 11
PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN PWN
PWN PWN
PWN Phrack World News PWN
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PWN Issue XXXIV, Part Two PWN
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PWN Compiled by Dispater PWN
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Mind Rape or Media Rape?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special Thanks: Night Ranger
Thursday September 26, 1991 was no ordinary day for Mind Rape, a young Arizona
State college student. When he finally made it home that day, he found his home
had been raided by the feds. 'They took EVERYTHING! Including my Metallica
tape!' he told me. After talking to him for quite a while I learned a lot, not
just about his bust but about hacking in general. He instructed me not to say
anything specifically on the advice of his lawyer and the EFF, but he did want
me to let the real reason he was busted be known - His electronic newsletter
entitled NSA (for National Security Anarchists). Mind Rape has some very
important views on hacking that the government doesn't want others to hear.
Some of these views were contained in his newest and soon to be released
newsletter NSA issue number five, which was confiscated of course. He was also
working on a book about hacker's philosophy, which was taken too. He has not
yet been charged but in the eyes of the media he is already been tried and
found guilty. It is unfortunate the general public gets its information from
news reports like the following because, as you can see, they can be quite
misleading. Hopefully once Mind Rape gets everything straight he will continue
to write his book, after all it is his constitutional right to do so, and I
think it be quite informative to both the hackers of the nineties and the
outside world.
The following is a transcript of a news report covering his story...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Male Announcer: That student is Donald _____ of Phoenix. Officials of
LDL Long Distance believe he's one of around 20 hackers who've been ripping off
their company for fun and profit. In tonight's Night Team Report we'll see how
this kind of thievery adds up. The nation's telephone companies loose more
than a billion dollars a year to hackers. Mark Nighten (sp?) a security
director for LDL Long Distance. Last month he was poring through records like
these which convinced him to believe that someone was making hundreds of
computer generated phone calls to his company's 1-800 access line trying to get
customer's calling card codes. He went to the Phoenix Police. They got a
search warrant and traced the calls to a house near 18th Drive near Union
Hills. Police went there last month and came away with a computer, software
and a list of phone codes, all belonging to 19 year old Donald _____ an ASU
student. With nighten suspects _____ is just one of 20 hacker on his network
who can make thousands of dollars worth of calls which would wind up on other
people's phone bills.
Mark: You can see the magnitude of this. Off of one authorization code
you could have 10, maybe 150 other people...
Male Announcer: Lemme ask ya...How bad are you getting ripped off here?
Mark: We've had to have somebody on this 24 hours a day. We've been
getting killed.
Male Announcer: Hackers often sell the codes they steal to other students.
So that hundreds of students and Arizona State University and University of
Arizona also could be ripping of the company. Students at Arizona State
University told me today that they have not herd of LDL's troubles, but they
confirmed that stolen phone codes do have a way of getting around.
I iz a College Student: Someone hears...ya know...about the interest and
someone else knows somebody...ya know...and they tell you and you talk to
them and...ya know...it's not overly expensive or anything like that.
Male Announcer: Dr. Dan Kneer of Arizona State University's School
of Business is a nationally recognized expert on computer crime. [who?] He
contends that hacking is mushrooming.
Dr. Dan: The problem that I see is that these people philosophically
don't see this as a crime. For most of them this is an intellectual challenge.
Male Announcer: That challenge led Dutch students to break into a United
States Army Computer during operation desert storm. And as this Japanese
documentary shows, it led hackers in a New York City to use payphones to commit
big time rip-offs. Now it's important to point out that Donald ______, that
Arizona State University student, has not yet been charged with any crime and
if he is charged he is innocent until proven guilty.
Female announcer: What is the penalty for hacking?
Male Announcer: Just for getting into a system when you're not supposed to
can be up to a year and a half in prison. But if there is criminal intent to
steal, to rip-off that system, the penalty can be as high as 10 years in jail
and a $150,000.00 fine.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Computer Hacker Gets Probation September 26, 1991
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special Thanks: Flaming Carrot (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
A Mt. Lebanon woman who was able to make thousands of free long-distance
telephone calls by breaking into voice mail boxes with a touch tone telephone
has been placed on 10 years probation. Last Friday, Common Pleas Judge Robert
E. Dauer ordered Andrea Gerulis, 20, of Castle Shannon Boulevard to make
restitution of $4,300 to Magee Womens Hospital and $2,516 to Pittsburgh
Cellular Telephone Co.
Gerulis, a Mt. Lebanon High School graduate, was a computer hacker who
entered telephone computer systems illegally so that she could make telephone
calls without paying for the service. Mt. Lebanon police Detective John L.
Michalec posed as a computer hacker and spent nine months investigating her
activities, which were done by dialing codes on a touch-tone telephone.
After a non-jury trial in May, Dauer convicted her of two counts of theft
of services and two counts of unlawful use of computers. Assistant District
Attorney Thaddeus A. Dutkowski recommended probation because he didn't want
Gerulis to go to jail, where she could teach inmates how to commit crimes with
a telephone. If she were incarcerated, she would have the largest classroom
environment she could hope for, Dutkowski said.
Dauer agreed that inmates already know too much about committing crimes
with telephones. Gerulis told Dauer that she was sorry for what she did, that
when she started, she was doing it for fun. She was also ordered to continue
psychological counseling.
_______________________________________________________________________________
More Archaic Government Regulations Proposed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special Thanks: Stainless Steal Provider (New York Times)
The federal government said Thursday that it would introduce a standard
for authenticating electronic data later this summer, but the announcement
prompted an angry reaction from one of the leading private providers of software
that protects computer data.
The company, RSA Data Security Inc. of Redwood City, Calif., said the
government had failed to address fears about the possibility of a secret "trap
door," which would permit intelligence and law-enforcement agencies to look at
private data.
The issue of providing special mechanisms to permit government access to
private information has caused a growing public debate recently.
Earlier this year an anti-terrorism bill introduced in Congress called on
the computer and telecommunication industries to permit federal agencies to
look at private data. But the statement was later dropped from the bill after
extensive public opposition.
Government officials said that it would be possible for technical experts
to examine the standard when it is released this summer and they could decide
for themselves whether there were any shortcomings in the design of the
standard.
"It will be openly published and people can inspect it to their heart's
content," said James H. Burrows, head of the computer systems laboratory at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology.
He added that the new standard was not intended to encrypt computer data,
and that the government would continue to rely on an earlier technology known
as the Data Encryption Standard to actually hide information from potential
electronic eavesdroppers.
Burrows said there was a project under way to develop a successor to that
standard, but that it was years away from completion.
______________________________________________________________________________
Computer Whiz Accused Of Illegal Access and Mischief September 25, 1991
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by Peter G. Chronis (The Denver Post Page 1 "NASA vs. Hobbyist")
An Aurora computer hobbyist who allegedly used a personal computer and his
home phone to penetrate NASA computers hacked off Uncle Sam enough to be
indicted on seven federal counts yesterday. Richard G. Wittman, 24, the
alleged "hacker," was accused of two felonies, including gaining unauthorized
access to NASA computers to alter, damage, or destroy information, and five
misdemeanor counts of interfering with the government's operation of the
computers. Wittman allegedly got into the NASA system on March 7, June 11,
June 19, June 28, July 25, July 30, and Aug. 2, 1.
Bob Pence, FBI chief in Denver, said Wittman used a personal computer in
his home and gained access to the NASA systems over telephone lines. The
investigation, which took more than a year, concluded that Wittman accessed the
NASA computer system and agency computers at the Marshall Space flight Center in
Huntsville, Alabama, and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Maryland.
The NASA computers are linked to a system called Telenet, which allows
qualified people to access government data bases. A user name and password
are required to reach the NASA computers. Federal sources declined to reveal
more information because the complex case involves "sensitive material."
Wittman, a high-school graduate, apparently hadn't worked in the computer
industry and held a series of odd jobs. The felony counts against him each
carry a possible five-year prison term and $250,000 fine.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Security Increases
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special Thanks: Stainless Steal Provider (New York Times)
The foundation was started by Richard Stallman, who was awarded a MacArthur
Foundation fellowship in 1. While mainstream software companies
have prohibited users from freely copying their programs, Stallman, who is
widely respected for developing computer languages and software editing tools,
has argued that information is not the same as other commodities and should be
shared without cost.
His password has been widely known among network users because he has
refused to keep it secret. He is bitter about the changes that have
accompanied the coming of age of computer networks.
Last month, after security was increased at the foundation and many users
were stripped of their guest privileges, Stallman said he considered giving up
his quest.
In the end, he decided that the cause of creating free software was too
important to abandon, but he said he feels like a pariah. "Since I won't agree
to have a real password, I will only be able to log in on the 'inside'
machines,"
he wrote in an electronic message in response to a reporter's query.
"I still feel partly ashamed of participating in this. I've been forced to
choose between two principles, both of which are so important to me that I
won't accept the loss of either of them."
Idealists like Stallman and Ted Nelson, the author of the cult classic
"Computer Lib," hoped that the computer revolution wouldn't be like the
industrial revolution. This time the wealth -- information -- would be free to
everyone and instant communication would break down the barriers between rich
and poor and remake mankind.
Marvin Minsky, a computer science professor at MIT, said that for 15
years, beginning in 1963, researchers at the school lived in a paradise,
sharing computers and networks before a system of password protection was
installed. Now that has changed. "It's sad," he said.
"But Richard Stallman is living in a dream world. He has this view that
his idea of computer ethics will prevail. But it's not going to happen this
year or next."
Instead of finding community on computer networks, many users are now
confronted with virus invasions and information theft, leading to the same
sense of alienation and fear felt by residents of large cities.
"At first I thought this was Marshall McLuhan's global village coming to
reality," said Neil Harris, a manager at General Electric Information Services
Co., which sets up computer conferences and sells information to about 200,000
members around the world.
"But it's not that at all. It's a lot of people connecting in hundreds of
small communities based around highly specific interests."
Steven Levy, who has written about the early days of computing at MIT, said
that the demise of the Free Software Foundation's open door policy was
inevitable.
"When you pass the plate around in church you don't expect people to steal
from it," he said. "But sooner or later everyone knows that the plate is
unguarded, and there are always people who don't care about the church. The
question is how far do you go to protect it? Do you lock the church or do you
send an armed guard around with the plate?"
______________________________________________________________________________
PWN Quicknotes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. On June 12, 1991, Sirhackalot's equipment was confiscated by the Southern
Bell and the FBI without any charges being filed. Neither the FBI nor
Southern Bell bothered to explain why they were in his home and taking his
personal possessions. Again neither party could tell Sirhackalot what he
supposedly did to bring both agency's to his doorstep. Also busted were
Mr.Doo and The Imortal Phreak. [Special Thanks: The Marauder (404)]
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. Bill Cook is no longer an assistant United States Attorney in Chicago. It
is unknown how he left his position. Basic questions go unanswered. Did
he quit or was fired? If he was fired, we'd like to know exactly why.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. Wanted: Targets of Operation Sun Devil
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) is pursuing a
lawsuit against the Secret Service seeking the release of information
concerning Operation Sun Devil. In recently filed court papers, the
agency claims that the information cannot be disclosed because, among
other reasons, disclosure would violate the privacy of those individuals
who are the targets of the investigation. This argument can be overcome
if CPSR obtains signed releases from those individuals. CPSR is
requesting the cooperation of anyone who was the subject of a Sun Devil
raid on or about May 7, 1. We are prepared to enter into an attorney-
client relationship with individuals responding to this request, so that
confidentiality will be assured.
Please respond ASAP to:
David Sobel
CPSR Legal Counsel
(202) 544-9240
dsobel@washofc.cpsr.org
_______________________________________________________________________________
4. Recently Microsoft discovered it was the victim of trespassing. A
security guard noticed two people playing volleyball on the premises and
knew that they did not work for Microsoft. The officer approached the
volleyball players and asked them to leave. The trespassers left. Later
someone asked the security guard how he knew that the people playing
volleyball were not Microsoft employees. He replied, "They had tans."
[Special Thanks: Psychotic Surfer]
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